Mysterious Talent

"So, what the hell is this?"

Han Su collected his little black suitcase and stood at the entrance to the Disaster Management Bureau base. Facing the dazzling sunlight and the free breeze, he felt dazed for a moment.

They hadn't found Zhang Chiguo, and after assigning everyone to teams, they'd kicked the D1D2 Work Group out.

Thinking back over the past week, how had things gotten so strange?

Well, he'd met Song Chushi, received a Spell, and then been dragged into an incident involving a Ghost Truck and the dead. After that, he'd gone through a week of training, downloaded an app, received an ID card, and gotten a stun baton.

And now his identity was different?

His own flickering experience had been mixed in there, too. Thinking it over, he felt the whole week had been utterly bizarre.

"Let's go!"

Just then, a woman's voice rang out. "I'll take you!"

Han Su turned and saw someone unexpected: the black-suited secretary who had been at Zhang Chiguo's side. She was dressed the same as before, in a black suit and black leather shoes, though the details of the fabric showed that she'd changed into a different outfit.

Was she the sort of woman who had an entire wardrobe filled with identical black suits?

What about her underwear?

Han Su's mind wandered for a moment before he came to his senses and asked curiously, "Where's Uncle Zhang?"

"He has some things to prepare. I'll take you home first."

Han Su frowned at that. "When can I see him, then?"

Secretary Cui Qiao didn't answer. Her little leather shoes clicked as she led the way to the parking lot, where she got into a tall, black SUV. "Where do you live?"

"Hikebridge District."

Han Su replied, "A tiny, cramped little place I rent. It's on a high floor, too, and it's inconvenient to buy things."

After a pause, he added, "Uncle Zhang should know I don't have any money. I applied for a scholarship, but I still have to work to cover my living expenses, so this is the only kind of place I can afford."

Cui Qiao didn't seem to care about what he said. "Your financial situation will improve now that you're in the Executive Department."

"By the way, it's pretty surprising that you were assigned to D2 Team. It also says a lot about your potential, your chances of survival, and your prospects of being promoted to investigator."

"Take a few days to rest and get used to your change in status."

"If you'd been assigned to Group D5D6, or even D3D4, you'd already have to suspend your studies and cut off your ties to society so you could serve in the Disaster Management Bureau. But since you're in D1D2, you can keep your current social connections."

"Just be careful. You can't share anything about the Disaster Management Bureau with others."

As she drove, Cui Qiao gave him a few more instructions. "For certain reasons, the Disaster Management Bureau uses a relatively flexible management approach for Executive Department members with the potential to become investigators. It's a new experiment."

"But I hope you understand that this isn't because the Bureau is incapable of strict military discipline. If you're demoted for making a mistake, you'll lose many of your rights as a person."

"..."

Han Su understood what she meant.

Weren't the members of Group D5D6 all kept at the Disaster Management Bureau and placed under direct management?

And then there was the mysterious Group D7, which he'd heard people mention during training, but still hadn't seen in person.

As they talked, Cui Qiao's car crossed Qinggang City's web of overpasses and bridges, then gradually entered Hikebridge District, where Han Su lived. When they arrived downstairs, she leaned out to take a look.

Her expression turned strange. "This is your little place?"

"Yeah. It's cheap."

Han Su got out with his bag. "A few hundred a month!"

Cui Qiao pursed her lips and got out, too. She followed Han Su through the heavily secured main entrance, then into a high-end elevator with ornate tiled walls. They went straight to the top floor and entered a comfortable, square-shaped apartment. She slowly turned around.

"A high-end apartment in a bustling commercial district, with a live-in manager and security guards, plus maintenance staff on rotating shifts. And the rent is only..."

"...a few hundred!"

"Yeah, pretty reasonable. To be fair, the layout's comfortable, but it really is quite small."

"..."

"Exactly."

Han Su said, "It's on a high floor, and it's inconvenient to buy things... Food delivery drivers can never get in, so I have to go down and pick it up myself."

Cui Qiao was starting to look displeased. "Want to switch?"

"But a friend recommended this place to me," Han Su added. "I used to live in low-rent housing in the slums, but my friend said no one had lived in this apartment for so long that he was worried it'd lose its liveliness. He asked me over a bunch of times to stay here."

"But I still pay him rent. Even between brothers, accounts should be settled clearly."

"..."

Cui Qiao hesitated. "You think you've settled the accounts clearly?"

"Of course not. That guy went out of his way to do me a favor. Even my laptop was a used one he gave me."

Han Su grinned. "But it's fine. I wouldn't accept money straight from him, but he found another way to help me, so I took it. He put so much thought into persuading me and went to all that trouble. It'd be rude to turn him down, wouldn't it?"

"By the way, are you staying for dinner?"

"I've only got instant noodles. Want me to make you a pack?"

"..."

"No need."

Cui Qiao recovered from Han Su's peculiar reasoning, shook her head, and turned away without commenting on his relationship with the rich young man.

Her gaze fell on a power outlet in the wall. She walked over, deftly flicked the cover with her fingers, and popped it off, exposing the metal wires inside the socket.

Then she touched one of the copper contacts with her right index finger.

"?"

Han Su was dumbfounded.

This woman had driven him home, and he'd agreed. She'd followed him upstairs, and he hadn't objected. When she didn't leave, he'd thought she wanted to stay for dinner. But who could have guessed she'd touch a live outlet?

Before he could step forward to stop her, the instant Cui Qiao touched the outlet, a faint wave of numbness passed through the room.

It was as if an invisible current had instantly spread everywhere.

Han Su saw a faint spark of electricity dance through her hair. A few strands even floated lightly in the air without falling.

"There really is something here."

Cui Qiao held the pose for a while before stopping. She turned and went to the corner of Han Su's room, where a desk lamp stood. She pulled out a component connected to a wire and tossed it lightly onto the floor.

Then she went around the room, pulling similar components from various hidden spots.

She even found a camera.

She also took apart Han Su's brand-new secondhand laptop and found a device inside that was stealing data.

By the time she'd found the first component, Han Su had already figured out what was going on.

Those self-important private detectives and bounty hunters had actually come to his home to install all kinds of bugs because of that bounty. Had Zhang Chiguo guessed this would happen and specifically sent her back with him to clean them out?

"That should do it now."

Cui Qiao tossed everything she'd found onto the floor. Then she crouched down and lightly tapped the devices with her finger. Faint sparks flickered at her fingertips, and the devices promptly charred and broke.

At the same time, in the shadowy corners of this vast city, some people were listening to something, watching something, or simply using machines to record information.

A jumble of signals suddenly burst through. Some heard a piercing noise in their headphones and doubled over, clutching their heads in pain.

Some saw strange images flash across their screens, and their minds went blank as they collapsed.

Some machines went haywire, their expensive hard drives burning out.

Every voyeur was punished in that instant. But Secretary Cui Qiao, the source of the punishment, said nothing about it. She only told Han Su, "That should do it, but be more careful from now on."

"It doesn't matter if someone sees your browser history, but if that leads to information about the Disaster Management Bureau getting leaked, you'll be in trouble."

"..."

"Got it..."

Han Su nodded and took out two packs of instant noodles. "You really don't want to stay and eat something?"

"No!"

Cui Qiao glanced at the noodles in his hands and smiled. She only shook her head slightly before returning to her businesslike tone. "By the way, now that you've joined the Disaster Management Bureau, you may receive a task soon."

"Your initial tasks are usually meant to help you adjust, but be careful. Any task the Bureau considers worth issuing, even an E-rank one, could involve danger."

"Don't let a task's tedium or dullness put you off. You have to take it seriously, because it'll affect your evaluation."

"Only if your evaluation is high enough—if it rises from an initial C+ to A+—will you have a chance to receive Mysterious Power training and become a real investigator."

"..."

Han Su was a little curious. "Was what you just did the result of receiving Mysterious Power training?"

"Yes."

Cui Qiao nodded. "After completing Spiritual Penetration training, I received approval from the Disaster Management Bureau to obtain the second Sequence Three Cipher Incantation."

"That's one of my abilities, too."